What does a bed bug look like?

The newly hatched bed bug is semi-transparent and very difficult to spot. The average adult bed bug is with the size of an apple seed. Its length is 4-7 mm, and it’s 4 mm wide.

Thanks to its oval shape and dark brown-red colour, this insect can be easily recognised during a professional bed bug inspection, conducted by one of the bed bug companies in London.

If you suspect that your home or working space is infested, don’t hesitate to ask a bed bug specialist to come over and take a look. The sooner the bed bug removal begins, the lower the bed bug treatment cost will be.

Bed Bug treatment

What’s the best treatment?

Once you’ve spotted bed bugs, you should destroy them and their eggs. One way to do this is to wash infected bedding and clothes at a temperature higher than 60°C. If that’s not possible, you can also place your belongings in a freezer for two days.
Another option is to varnish the doors, furniture, floors, and any other wooden surface. You could also seal all the cracks you can find with a silicone sealant. These two tricks might stop bed bugs from hiding or from crawling out of their hiding place.
Nevertheless, as bed bugs enter a state of semi-hibernation when the temperature drops below 16°C and can live for a year without food, it’s recommended to leave the bed bug treatment to the bed bug experts.

Learn More About Heat Treatment

How much does a treatment cost?

The bed bug exterminator price depends on the severity of the infestation and the bed bug services that are needed in this particular case.
Let’s say you’ve found a bed bug control company which has given you an estimation of how much the bed bug removal would cost.
This amount usually includes the pest control price as well as any additional costs, like the bed bug heat treatment cost.

Learn More About Spray Treatment

Where do bed bugs come from?

According to bed bud experts, there are two major ways to get bed bugs in a specific environment. In search of a host, they can migrate on their own and walk up to 72 meters for one hour.

Bed bugs can also end up at a certain space after being carried around with luggage, clothing or furniture. They’re so tiny, that they can hide literally everywhere: in the seam of a briefcase, jacket or a second-hand furniture. There’s a chance of getting them just by spending some time in an infested area, like a movie theatre, a hotel or a bus. Unfortunately, there are plenty of such places in London!

How fast do bed bugs reproduce?

A female bed bug can lay between 200 to 500 eggs throughout her life, or 10 eggs per day. It takes 10 days for the eggs to hatch. In order to survive, the newly hatched bed bug needs to eat within the first two days of its existence.

Afterwards, it goes through five immature stages. Each of them is accompanied by a blood meal and a change of the insect’s skin. Once in the last, adult stage, it needs only a couple of months before it reaches maturity.

What are some signs of bed bugs?

What makes bed bugs almost invincible is the fact that it takes more than a sharp eye to locate all the places where they’re hiding and they’ve laid their eggs at.

The most common signs of a bed bug infestation are blood spots on the mattress, shells, and faecal matter. Another sure way to recognize they’re around is if you spot 2-3 bites forming a straight line or triangle on your upper torso, neck, arms, or around your face. There can also be bumps or a rash.

The bites are itchy, and in some cases, they can cause an allergic reaction. A curious fact is that approximately 40% of all people don’t get a reaction to the bites at all, and 20% don’t even realize that they’ve been bitten.

Where can bed bugs be found?

Bed bugs are among the urban pests whose extermination requires a tremendous effort. An infestation usually begins in the mattress or the bed frame, but it spreads quickly, and it can also affect tables, cupboards, drawers, floors, wall cracks, electrical sockets, and personal belongings. They prefer natural materials like wood, paper, or fabric for their shelter.